BUFULO's dashboard

I've seen this one too! Bizarre. – BUFULO, on November 30, 2009 05:07

Whatever you guys did today fixed something! No comparison to Sunday! If you did nothing for sure, then it must have been something going on with my network connection (no real evidence of that though). DEFINITELY did nothing to my phone. – BUFULO, on November 17, 2009 07:12

I think I've seen the "Don't Send" option before, but I wonder if there is also a "Don't Ask Again" button? I got no option this time, so I'm thinking I may have specified Don't Send & Don't Ask Again at some point. Can't find any option for this anywhere either.

I'll send them direct just to be sure you get them. – BUFULO, on November 17, 2009 00:32

Aren't they sent to Apple automatically or is there some option in iTunes to worry about now? If it sends them by default, you should get them eventually. I could also send them directly as I have in the past if that might help. Unfortunately there were lots of crashes, so I can't specifically point out what happened for each log/entry. – BUFULO, on November 16, 2009 21:15

I just fail to see the problem with female players without clothing...

How about a weapon that causes your score to go down instead of up if you tap the "weaponized" tappers it creates?

You seriously think this is a "problem" in the mind of any male player on this board? :)

Is it the same song, all songs, & how often does it happen? If it happens every time on a song, post a video! – BUFULO, on October 24, 2009 17:37

Yeah, I know. Apparently it's just not working right now. – BUFULO, on October 24, 2009 17:36

Try doing a Backup & Restore (from that Backup) in iTunes. – BUFULO, on October 24, 2009 17:28

Can't delete posts here now?

The problem is that those "shit" moments you describe are obviously 100% user error. That's a LOT easier to defend than incorrect software "guesses!"

I also still think that if the valid tap time window were truly honored, the complaints wouldn't be nearly as bad as they are with overlap. This is because tappers that are close together in alternating lanes, for example, could be hit out-of-order as long as the tap time window was not violated. Maybe this is a little harder to code, but I truly believe no overlap can be made to work even with the apparent current OS limitations.

Regardless, it would be SO EASY to add an option to reduce the target size. The current "guessing" algorithm could remain in place. Then, when people complain about dropped taps due to overlap, you could just tell them to turn off the overlap (which effectively eliminates the guessing). If that doesn't help, they either need to practice more or take their complaint to Apple!

I just don't believe EVERYONE would prefer overlap. I don't believe Apple OS is that bad at finding the "center" of a touch. Maybe I'm wrong. I do trust your testing, but knowing the variability of play (finger sizes, contact angles, etc.) & given how easy it would be to add the option, I think it's a no-brainer to add the "no overlap" or variable overlap option.

PS. Thanks for the graphic. That's quite the BUTTLOAD of overlap! – BUFULO, on October 23, 2009 21:03

I agree completely that BPP's video proves nothing. Video proof is not easy to get. To really do it right, you need high frame rates & more than one video (multiple angles). You need to capture the actual finger contact with the screen (not easy). It should be easy enough to capture the REALLY obvious drops that occur though - those on much slower songs.

However, I'm also not crazy, am on a few leaderboards, & do know a dropped tap when it happens. It absolutely DOES happen & is mostly random except for the ones due to the overlapping targets issue.

I STRONGLY suspect that most reports of dropped taps are due to the overlapping targets issue & are legitimate complaints even if they don't meet your definition of drops. – BUFULO, on October 23, 2009 19:51

Apple OS does provide just a single point (x, y coordinate) as the location of the touch. However, it is NOT simply the center of the contact patch. The Apple firmware decides (i.e., GUESSES) where you "intended" to touch. Since a "touch" is not a stationary thing (your finger is ALWAYS moving & the contact patch size is ALWAYS changing), Apple has to filter this movement to come up with a single point.

I'm not familiar with touch screen displays (& associated hardware/controller/firmware, etc.). Perhaps the hardware and/or Apple tracks velocity and/or direction to come up with that point. I believe they also take device orientation into account (in real time too?), so they're probably messing with the accelerometers too.

So the bottom line is that Tapulous probably has little control over the definition of a "tap" & felt they needed larger (big enough such that they overlap) tap targets to allow more people to play the more difficult songs.

Regardless, it should be TRIVIAL to allow the user to set the size of the tap targets or, at the very least, have an "overlap ON/OFF" option.

PS. Maybe a future version of iPhone OS will have better support for gaming applications by giving the applications more control over touch events. For example, disabling Apple touch filtering entirely, not tracking movement, etc. – BUFULO, on October 23, 2009 18:40

A "1-pixel" tap zone is a ridiculous exaggeration - even more ridiculous than overlapping tap zones! Hmmm... maybe not. I think I'd actually prefer a 1 pixel tap zone instead of overlap. – BUFULO, on October 22, 2009 19:55

Oops, that example was supposed to read "2 tappers in the left lane, 2 in the center," not 2 in the right. – BUFULO, on October 22, 2009 19:51

It could, & maybe it does, but if the tap areas overlap on side-by-side or alternating tappers, the "guess" could be wrong! Think about it. Two tappers in the left lane, 2 in the right. You tap twice in each lane. If any of the taps in the center lane register in the left, you've lost your streak!

The bottom line is that the software shouldn't assume a tap occurs anywhere other than exactly where it is! What's wrong with that? Just having to ask that question makes me feel like I'm living in some kind of alternate universe or something. WTF? – BUFULO, on October 21, 2009 20:13

What he said! :) – BUFULO, on October 20, 2009 02:31